Rivers APC crisis will never end until… — Sen Abe

“Intolerance of dissenting views, impunity, high-handedness and lack of respect for others” according to Senator Magnus Abe, are the things responsible for the crisis within the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said except all these issues are resolved, that the crisis the opposition party in the oil state is facing will continue to linger.

Abe is a serving senator representing Rivers South-East. The crisis in the state is apparently the battle between himself and the state’s former governor and current Minister of Transport, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, over who controls the state’s APC and possibly the state.

Abe had emerged a factional APC governorship candidate for the state but was rejected by the Adams Oshiomhole led National Working Committee of the APC, which chose Tonye Cole, the candidate from the primaries held by Amaechi, as the state’s APC candidate.

However, a court has since nullified all the APC primaries conducted in the state following suits by Abe’s group challenging the outcome of the elections.

The senator, who lamented the worsening crisis rocking the party in Rivers in a statement on Friday and released by Kennedy Friday of the Kairos Media Group on his behalf, denied being used by Governor Nyesom Wike to destabilise the opposition party in the state.

The statement read in part, “The crisis in Rivers APC began long before Sen. Abe’s thanksgiving service to which Gov. Wike along with other governors, senators and ministers attended. The foundation of the crisis in the party is intolerance of dissenting views, impunity, high-handedness and lack of respect for others. Disregard for all rules and laws including the constitution of the party and even orders of courts of competent jurisdiction. Until this is addressed the crisis will continue, and singing Wike as a song will not change anything.

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“Our attention has been drawn to a statement issued by Mr. Chris Finebone whose election as Publicity Secretary of Rivers APC has been nullified by the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction spewing fire and brimstone against a judicial officer and the court of law.”

Meanwhile, Cole has announced Chief Victor Tombari Giadom as his running mate for the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State.

Cole made the announcement while briefing the top hierarchy of the APC in a meeting in Port Harcourt.

Chief Victor Giadom is the incumbent Deputy National Secretary of the APC and a member of the Party’s National Working Committee, NWC.

He was a former Executive Chairman of Gokana Local Government and later served as Commissioner for Works under Amaechi’s administration in the State from 2011 to 2015.

 

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